The Board has determined that additional development and examination are needed to properly evaluate the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his IBS, DJD of the thoracic spine, and radiculopathy of the lower extremities. The issues have been remanded.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations conducted in March 2012 were inadequate as they did not consider the current severity of the Veteran's symptoms related to his IBS and back disability, nor did they evaluate the severity of his radiculopathy of his lower extremities.
- Claimed conditions
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD) of the thoracic spine, Radiculopathy of the right lower extremity, Radiculopathy of the left lower extremity associated with DJD of the thoracic spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 27, 2019
- Citation
- 19166511
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 19166511.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of September 2, 2020, for the grant of service connection for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) but denied a higher initial rating and TDIU.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim for service connection for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) as there was no competent or credible evidence of a current diagnosis during the appellate period.
- Partly granted
The Board denied earlier effective dates for service connection and increased ratings, except for a granted 30 percent rating for headache disability.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for thoracolumbar spine disorder and cervical pain but denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss. The Board also granted ratings of 10 percent or 20 percent for several conditions from specific dates.
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